A new and unusual LBV-like outburst from a Wolf–Rayet star in the outskirts of M33
Author
SMITH, NATHANE Andrews, Jennifer
Moe, Maxwell
Milne, Peter
Bilinski, Christopher
Kilpatrick, Charles D
Fong, Wen-fai
Badenes, Carles

Filippenko, Alexei V
Kasliwal, Mansi
Silverman, Jeffrey M
Affiliation
Univ Arizona, Steward ObservIssue Date
2020-01-14
Metadata
Show full item recordPublisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESSCitation
Nathan Smith, Jennifer E Andrews, Maxwell Moe, Peter Milne, Christopher Bilinski, Charles D Kilpatrick, Wen-Fai Fong, Carles Badenes, Alexei V Filippenko, Mansi Kasliwal, Jeffrey M Silverman, A new and unusual LBV-like outburst from a Wolf–Rayet star in the outskirts of M33, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 492, Issue 4, March 2020, Pages 5897–5915, https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa061Rights
Copyright © 2020 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
MCA-I13 (also called UIT003) is a luminous hot star in the western outskirts of M33, classified over 20 yr ago with a spectral type of Ofpe/WN9 and identified then as a candidate luminous blue variable (LBV). Palomar Transient Factory data reveal that this star brightened in 2010, with a light curve resembling that of the classic LBV star AF And in M3 L Other Ofpe/WN9 stars have erupted as LBVs, but MCA-1B was unusual because it remained hot. It showed a WN-type spectrum throughout its eruption, whereas LBVs usually get much cooler. MCA-1B showed an almost four-fold increase in bolometric luminosity and a doubling of its radius, but its temperature stayed >29 1(1(. As it faded, it shifted to even hotter temperatures, exhibiting a WN7/WN8-type spectrum, and doubling its wind speed. MCA-1B is reminiscent of some supernova impostors, and its location resembles the isolated environment of SN 2009ip. It is most similar to HD 5980 (in the Small Magellanic Cloud) and GR 290 (also in M33). Whereas these two LBVs exhibited 13-type spectra in eruption, MCA-1B is the first clear case where a Wolf Rayet (WR) spectrum persisted at all times. Together, MCA-1B, HD 5980, and GR 290 constitute a class of WN-type LBVs, distinct from S Doradus LBVs, They are most interesting in the context of LBVs at low metallicity, a possible post-LBV/WR transition in binaries, and as likely Type Ibn supernova progenitors.ISSN
0035-8711Version
Final published versionae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1093/mnras/staa061